A visually stunning and glamorous film. It follows a simple yet touching story through the eyes of the broken girl Shenxiu and a troubled man Nanhe. It revolves around the sea and the quest for a long lost destination. The first half of the film takes viewes into the universe. The last couple of scenes are tear-jerkers, when the ending song rose I just sit there and let myself immersed in the story. It's a story about pain and healing, sacrifice and salvation. Yet the dialogues in the film could be more refined and the first half plot is relatively weak. It could resonate with people fighting depression, anyway it's worth watching.
21 Reviews
Colorful, confused
snowly-381543 May 2023
Actually, I want to give 6 points, and the extra 1 point is for the efforts of Chinese anime.
The picture is very gorgeous, colorful, and made with a great sense of quality. It can be considered a successful creation of a dreamy atmosphere. But sometimes it can overwhelm the theme characters, and made it confused.
The story was combination of Chinese and Western elements. I can see "Spirited Away", Dementor in "Harry Potter" and the elements of Stephen Chow's movie. It should be a story of self-redemption. She broke free from the shackles of depression in her own dreams. But in my opinion, she still needs external forces, attention, and companionship. In this story, she tells herself in her dream that someone loves her, someone values her, and someone accompanies her. The story interweaved fictional plots with reality. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish whether one is in a dream or in reality. Perhaps the director wants such an effect.
The picture is very gorgeous, colorful, and made with a great sense of quality. It can be considered a successful creation of a dreamy atmosphere. But sometimes it can overwhelm the theme characters, and made it confused.
The story was combination of Chinese and Western elements. I can see "Spirited Away", Dementor in "Harry Potter" and the elements of Stephen Chow's movie. It should be a story of self-redemption. She broke free from the shackles of depression in her own dreams. But in my opinion, she still needs external forces, attention, and companionship. In this story, she tells herself in her dream that someone loves her, someone values her, and someone accompanies her. The story interweaved fictional plots with reality. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish whether one is in a dream or in reality. Perhaps the director wants such an effect.
Wonderful animation but poor storyline
eavan-8734827 April 2023
The color matching is breathtakingly amazing, and the animation technology is at the forefront of the whole industry. The effect of this anime makes me cry, but sadly that's all there is. The movie has all the astonishing visual effects but it is too much for ONE movie. There's some scenes that is totally unnecessary, watching these incredible frames all the time is just making me feel tired and even disgusted. The director wants to show his talent so badly and it's like he put all the things that he have studied. The pace of the story drags on because of these scenes. Also, I cant understand what this movie is about in the first 1 hour. It seems like it is talking about a depressed girl is dying and the whole movie is about her dreams, but it is too unreasonable that most of the audiences can't understand. Anyway, it's a pity that this movie could have a higher rate.
Experiential animation with special structure
happyflydream25 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
As a dream work of director Tian Xiaopeng who has sharpened his sword for seven years, I can really feel the intention of the main creative team and see many differences from other domestic animation films. The most intuitive impression of the film is that the pictures and art are very amazing, the modeling and the processing of light and shadow are very delicate, and the unique use of particle effects shows the charm of ink painting. The material selection of the story is quite surprising. It jumps out of many legends that other domestic animations like to shoot. Instead, it chooses to focus on the impact of depression patients and family restructuring on children, full of humanistic care. The film follows the protagonist's perspective throughout the whole process, and a large amount of ink is used to outline his inner world. The lens of the real world is low saturation and full of depression, which is in sharp contrast with the colorful fantasy world. This treatment can make the audience better understand the protagonist's feelings. The narrative structure of the film is very novel. It is suspended at the beginning. It does not explain the complete story at the first time. It directly cuts into the fantasy world of the protagonist. It allows people to integrate into the inner world of the protagonist by means of virtual and real reference. Finally, it recycles the foreshadow and completely explains the story. Such treatment can make the film more attractive to the audience and make the ending more expressive. Regrettably, there are also some places where the film is still in progress, and the rhythm of some places is not very good. However, I am very satisfied overall. The director has great ambition. After the success of the last film "The Return of the Great Sage", he did not stop, but chose to challenge the more difficult aerial handling of the real story. Although he still did not completely get rid of some of the problems in the plot promotion of the previous work, he still showed the audience more possibilities of Chinese animated films. With this excellent picture, I still couldn't put it down. I hope that there will be more domestic animation works in the future.
Thanks to the producer for bringing poetic drifting and a unique dream experience
allenadyu30 January 2023
Maybe the movie itself has many flaws, but I am still very surprised to have such a domestic animation movie. The picture is very delicate, the emotion is very rich, and the particle ink special effects are also very sincere, which is a very good movie-watching experience. Domestic films always like to use traditional myths as themes, and it is difficult to break through with new themes, especially the portrayal of inner emotions, which is unique, full of novelty, and far-reaching. I really admire the courage of director Tian Xiaopeng. I also look forward to more and better domestic animation films appearing.
Beautifully Animated and Good Intentions, However Disappointing.
chenp-547088 July 2023
Managed to catch this one at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
I'm going to be honest, I really enjoyed the first 20 minutes of the film as it was quite interesting but unfortunately as the film continues, the film doesn't have a grasp on what it wants to be and goes all over the place.
Throughout, the animation colors, models, designs, and structures are insanely beautiful as Asian Animated movies tend to have some beautiful looking animation designs and colors. There were some pretty good sound designs and some interesting tense moments throughout the film during some underwater sequences and moments. Unfortunately, the positive aspects are overshadowed from the sloppy narrative and uninteresting characters.
The narrative explores themes of pain and healing, sacrifice, and acceptance and I can see where the film is heading and trying to explain but unfortunately the themes are sloppy and goes quite all over the place. There were even moments that felt like it ripped off Spirited Away too much. The voice performances for the most part are okay as they did their job on making their characters move around. None of the characters were really interesting which made it difficult to really fully connect with them. Despite the amazing animation, there were noticeable moments where the voicing doesn't much the mouth movements of the characters which was very distracting.
The soundtrack is pretty good, the direction was kind of bland and the last act does explore some pretty interesting emotional territories but the overall film doesn't do much justice which makes the film overall disappointing.
It has good intentions but it's not as good as I hoped for.
I'm going to be honest, I really enjoyed the first 20 minutes of the film as it was quite interesting but unfortunately as the film continues, the film doesn't have a grasp on what it wants to be and goes all over the place.
Throughout, the animation colors, models, designs, and structures are insanely beautiful as Asian Animated movies tend to have some beautiful looking animation designs and colors. There were some pretty good sound designs and some interesting tense moments throughout the film during some underwater sequences and moments. Unfortunately, the positive aspects are overshadowed from the sloppy narrative and uninteresting characters.
The narrative explores themes of pain and healing, sacrifice, and acceptance and I can see where the film is heading and trying to explain but unfortunately the themes are sloppy and goes quite all over the place. There were even moments that felt like it ripped off Spirited Away too much. The voice performances for the most part are okay as they did their job on making their characters move around. None of the characters were really interesting which made it difficult to really fully connect with them. Despite the amazing animation, there were noticeable moments where the voicing doesn't much the mouth movements of the characters which was very distracting.
The soundtrack is pretty good, the direction was kind of bland and the last act does explore some pretty interesting emotional territories but the overall film doesn't do much justice which makes the film overall disappointing.
It has good intentions but it's not as good as I hoped for.
It takes the embodiment of the ultimate fantasy to an unrivalled level. It is enough to become the best Chinese animated film. It could even go down in movie history.
telaa-267212 February 2023
(85/100 - Excellent) "Deep Sea" in the character story through the elaborate setting and excellent visual art effect guidance, for the final act of the core explosion provides a strong expression."Deep Sea" is intoxicating in its beauty and penetrating in its depth. With its deep story and extraordinary audio-visual immersion, "Deep Sea" is a new milestone for Chinese animated films. Its technical inspiration also contributes to world animation.
Director Tian Xiaopeng and his team spent seven years weaving an almost impossible miracle. Tons of story details and graphic details tell you about their indomitable creative mentality. It would be hard to meet this film in today's streamlined film and television industry, which strives for speed of completion and efficiency of making money. The team that made this movie absolutely deserves our respect.
Director Tian Xiaopeng and his team spent seven years weaving an almost impossible miracle. Tons of story details and graphic details tell you about their indomitable creative mentality. It would be hard to meet this film in today's streamlined film and television industry, which strives for speed of completion and efficiency of making money. The team that made this movie absolutely deserves our respect.
Catch the copy cat
xnicofingerx30 November 2023
The assessment of Deep Sea is similar to the general evaluation of a Chinese product. A foreign product is copied without any prior preparation or experience and attempts, or rather attempts, to commercially upgrade it for the market. Favourable location conditions meet more or less naive component juggling in this respect. The result is a good product at first glance, which looks really attractive on the outside in terms of market technology, but on closer inspection quickly reveals content of little value, a work that will not stand the test of time.
The motto "can't do anything right, but can do everything" has now also arrived in anime. The model was without question Japanese art, above all Studio Ghibli. The reference immediately reveals what the Chinese lack, apart from craftsmanship, above all: the ability to grasp the essence of something. You actually start with a story that is as grand and multi-faceted as possible, around which an appealing visualisation is then created. Deep Sea required a modern computer programme, a few programmers who presumably have no cinematic horizons whatsoever, and a director who tries to squeeze out an idea of content for the available technical possibilities. This may be entertainment, but it is neither art nor cinema.
The result: a powerful look, some really great images, but completely overloaded and almost torture for the human optic nerve. Pure sensory overload, with no other emotional impact in the end. The latter is carried by the characters, main and secondary, their interaction, the comprehensibility, the reflection of the viewer on themselves and others. Poor Shenxiu, yes, but the rest of the actors? Uninteresting, irrelevant, cold. The message? Obviously one from another culture.
Regarding any accusations of fundamental origin-bashing: the crux of the matter here lies in the system, not the individual. In this sense, once again the painful realisation: there actually used to be a big Chinese film factory, it was called Hong Kong, and it has long been part of past history.
The motto "can't do anything right, but can do everything" has now also arrived in anime. The model was without question Japanese art, above all Studio Ghibli. The reference immediately reveals what the Chinese lack, apart from craftsmanship, above all: the ability to grasp the essence of something. You actually start with a story that is as grand and multi-faceted as possible, around which an appealing visualisation is then created. Deep Sea required a modern computer programme, a few programmers who presumably have no cinematic horizons whatsoever, and a director who tries to squeeze out an idea of content for the available technical possibilities. This may be entertainment, but it is neither art nor cinema.
The result: a powerful look, some really great images, but completely overloaded and almost torture for the human optic nerve. Pure sensory overload, with no other emotional impact in the end. The latter is carried by the characters, main and secondary, their interaction, the comprehensibility, the reflection of the viewer on themselves and others. Poor Shenxiu, yes, but the rest of the actors? Uninteresting, irrelevant, cold. The message? Obviously one from another culture.
Regarding any accusations of fundamental origin-bashing: the crux of the matter here lies in the system, not the individual. In this sense, once again the painful realisation: there actually used to be a big Chinese film factory, it was called Hong Kong, and it has long been part of past history.
A Beautifully Constructed Masterpiece
timqqq4 February 2023
Unlike many mainstream movie productions, the appreciation of Deep Sea requires a holistic lens. Borrowing from contemporary psychiatric literature, the film tells a story of hope, despair, and the rebirth of a little girl who is undergoing major setbacks in life.
In a brilliantly constructed dreamworld that has inexplicable ties with reality, the protagonist interrogates the multi-facets of her life; a seed of hope is planted in an important encounter.
The plot can't necessarily stand up to the test of time. Yet, the constant build-up of suspension and emotion combined with stunning visuals and acoustics produced a beautiful effect at the time of revelation, where even the most unaffectionate person would find it hard to stay unmoved.
I would undoubtedly re-watch this film many and many times. But the colourful mix of emotions I experienced at the end of the film may never get replicated. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime film, and a once-in-a-lifetime exprience.
In a brilliantly constructed dreamworld that has inexplicable ties with reality, the protagonist interrogates the multi-facets of her life; a seed of hope is planted in an important encounter.
The plot can't necessarily stand up to the test of time. Yet, the constant build-up of suspension and emotion combined with stunning visuals and acoustics produced a beautiful effect at the time of revelation, where even the most unaffectionate person would find it hard to stay unmoved.
I would undoubtedly re-watch this film many and many times. But the colourful mix of emotions I experienced at the end of the film may never get replicated. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime film, and a once-in-a-lifetime exprience.
A touching and delicate story in the depths of the sea with great grandeur
jatewg13 February 2023
The Deep Sea with its stunning particle effects, moving story content, in the Spring Festival stalls can be a flood of power to defeat the wandering earth 2 and full of red works, in recent years of animation competition can also be a flood of power to defeat thousands of horses, from the special effects or the core of the story are very heart, personally think is really the best Chinese animation film in recent years, breakthrough technology also breakthrough my heart defense, very moving film, although there are some flaws but the flaw does not cover up, I hope the audience can really quiet to watch it with heart, it deserves a better box office.
It's like Pixar decided to adapt a Manga in their own style
knl65428 September 2023
This Chinese movie is so beautiful, filled with vibrant colours and top notch animation, I was so invested in the story and the atmospheric environment of this movie, the character design is so unique and weird, the cgi and vfx are so beautiful, even the rain looks like something from the dream, it's like the whole movies is inspired by lucid dreams, I was really glad I watched this movies, I have watched so many Chinese animated movies but, this one has some of the best colour palette, the story is very emotional and quite effective by the end, over I enjoyed the movie and hope to see more work like this in the future.
Amazing views and deep to think,milestone that still need to be sculpted
gogoal115 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The advantages and disadvantages are obvious, but I am still willing to call Deep Sea a good movie.
The most significant advantage is that its particle ink production is a milestone in Chinese animation history. As the director Tian Xiaopeng said, the United States and Japan have their mature animation style. At the same time, their team, for the first time, will be the most traditional Chinese "ink" and advanced three-dimensional technology to combine, taking two years to develop a new Chinese style "particle ink," which is genuinely an authentic Chinese style screen display. In the animation, the ink's intensity and dryness, the lines' straightness and squareness, the denseness of the chops, the lightness of the staining, and the warmth and coldness of the colouring all give the audience an excellent visual experience. Modern technology presents the particle ink picture between ink and oil painting, with low graininess and rich layers. The ocean swirl reminds one of Van Gogh's starry sky, and the hometown of Nanhe reminds one of Monet's countryside.
A dynamic shot consists of 2 billion particles to achieve a sense of ethereality. It again shows the audience that there is plenty of sound technology in Chinese animation, and its production modelling can go its own way.
Such a simple story, which needs to support a 2-hour movie and with the help of an otherworldly shell, is an excellent test of storytelling ability and imagination. My overall opinion is that imagination is sufficient, but the ability to tell the story still needs to be improved. I believe that many viewers who have seen the film have had a similar viewing experience: the first 30 minutes are spent marvelling at the beauty of the film's production, the middle hour is confused by the nonsense of the plot, and the final hour is slowly realized to be the main character's near-death experience. The last 30 minutes are hit by touching after being completely confused, which is what the director's narrative is trying to This is what the director's narrative is trying to achieve. Just like the high praise answer before the pearl said, he is betting that the audience will survive the first 3/4 of the film and then realize and tear up. The film consists of two layers of storytelling, one is the near-death imagination of a young girl suffering from depression, so it will seem very jumpy when her inner self-help gradually clears. In the end, there will be a massive reversal of explanation, where it is easy to hit those who have struggled inside the audience. But the risk of doing so is too significant, and I expect this film to be highly polarizing. The director is so narrative, deliberately not picking out the results of this is near-death experience may make many viewers look baffled, and not easy to find many details.
Depression is actually a loss of perception of the real world. There is a very graphic analogy said depression is like a big black dog eating you, but you can not drive it away. Slowly your whole world is only this big black dog, you no longer feel a trace of real-world warmth and goodwill.
The first symbolic image of the nightmare is the sea genie, the sea genie is, so Cthulhu's image shows that it is not a severe genie. Its symbol is more universal, is everyone's greed, extravagant and the most desired thing in the heart, so people who drink the lump soup cooked by it will fall into a happy illusion, the heroine also heard her mother's song through it, but it is also very dangerous, a little carelessness will become huge and devour everything, this It is the embodiment of greed.
It is the heroine's nightmare. It is an illusion of the red sweater, the red sweater is the love left behind by the mother, is the armour of the Senju and escape from the hut, as long as the grief is caught back in the hut by the red bereavement ghost, escape from reality, deceive themselves, get depressed, ostracized by the people around, called "bad luck." Every time Nan He performed magic, he and the helmsman sea otter insisted on going to the Eye of the Deep to help Senjou fight depression. They insisted on going to the Eye of the Deep so dangerous, long ago, not for the sake of sound money (one of the shots is Nan He just saved the coins thrown away to keep Senjou), but to go deep inside the heart of the depressed to find the knot of depression.
This knot is the phone call from his birth mother that came to him in the drawer when he finally reached the Eye of the Deep.
But eventually, the phone sinks to the bottom of the sea, which means that it is precisely the obsession unravelled. The call that finally appears is actually not the birth mother back but the stepmother. The original film of the birth mother is cold, heartless, and doesn't care about the message of the daughter, the heroine, all just the pursuit of the shadow of that love, a floating that is scattered. And along the way NanHe's get-together gave her a sense of home, so she felt the love of family, but also gradually recalled the happy times with her father's stepmother's brother. Hence, she jumped out of the obsession. The birth mother also came back or not is no longer critical. Nanhe took her out of depression and became her spiritual regenerative parent. She was also the last to set aside the call to save the Nanhe. So a reason, many places can be precise.
This narrative has a lot of problems, and it's easy to get confused without looking into it. The characters also have a big problem standing up unsteadily (or maybe it's the unique way depressed people see the world). The story's first half is a villain's image of a money-grubbing villain, and the second half is very calm, brave and righteous. The memories of his hometown and the appearance of the golden fields suggest that Nanhe has an exciting past experience. Unfortunately, what prompted her to save the heroine, what experience formed his character, I can not see for the time being. In short, the picture is a milestone, but the plot still needs to be sculpted as well.
The most significant advantage is that its particle ink production is a milestone in Chinese animation history. As the director Tian Xiaopeng said, the United States and Japan have their mature animation style. At the same time, their team, for the first time, will be the most traditional Chinese "ink" and advanced three-dimensional technology to combine, taking two years to develop a new Chinese style "particle ink," which is genuinely an authentic Chinese style screen display. In the animation, the ink's intensity and dryness, the lines' straightness and squareness, the denseness of the chops, the lightness of the staining, and the warmth and coldness of the colouring all give the audience an excellent visual experience. Modern technology presents the particle ink picture between ink and oil painting, with low graininess and rich layers. The ocean swirl reminds one of Van Gogh's starry sky, and the hometown of Nanhe reminds one of Monet's countryside.
A dynamic shot consists of 2 billion particles to achieve a sense of ethereality. It again shows the audience that there is plenty of sound technology in Chinese animation, and its production modelling can go its own way.
Such a simple story, which needs to support a 2-hour movie and with the help of an otherworldly shell, is an excellent test of storytelling ability and imagination. My overall opinion is that imagination is sufficient, but the ability to tell the story still needs to be improved. I believe that many viewers who have seen the film have had a similar viewing experience: the first 30 minutes are spent marvelling at the beauty of the film's production, the middle hour is confused by the nonsense of the plot, and the final hour is slowly realized to be the main character's near-death experience. The last 30 minutes are hit by touching after being completely confused, which is what the director's narrative is trying to This is what the director's narrative is trying to achieve. Just like the high praise answer before the pearl said, he is betting that the audience will survive the first 3/4 of the film and then realize and tear up. The film consists of two layers of storytelling, one is the near-death imagination of a young girl suffering from depression, so it will seem very jumpy when her inner self-help gradually clears. In the end, there will be a massive reversal of explanation, where it is easy to hit those who have struggled inside the audience. But the risk of doing so is too significant, and I expect this film to be highly polarizing. The director is so narrative, deliberately not picking out the results of this is near-death experience may make many viewers look baffled, and not easy to find many details.
Depression is actually a loss of perception of the real world. There is a very graphic analogy said depression is like a big black dog eating you, but you can not drive it away. Slowly your whole world is only this big black dog, you no longer feel a trace of real-world warmth and goodwill.
The first symbolic image of the nightmare is the sea genie, the sea genie is, so Cthulhu's image shows that it is not a severe genie. Its symbol is more universal, is everyone's greed, extravagant and the most desired thing in the heart, so people who drink the lump soup cooked by it will fall into a happy illusion, the heroine also heard her mother's song through it, but it is also very dangerous, a little carelessness will become huge and devour everything, this It is the embodiment of greed.
It is the heroine's nightmare. It is an illusion of the red sweater, the red sweater is the love left behind by the mother, is the armour of the Senju and escape from the hut, as long as the grief is caught back in the hut by the red bereavement ghost, escape from reality, deceive themselves, get depressed, ostracized by the people around, called "bad luck." Every time Nan He performed magic, he and the helmsman sea otter insisted on going to the Eye of the Deep to help Senjou fight depression. They insisted on going to the Eye of the Deep so dangerous, long ago, not for the sake of sound money (one of the shots is Nan He just saved the coins thrown away to keep Senjou), but to go deep inside the heart of the depressed to find the knot of depression.
This knot is the phone call from his birth mother that came to him in the drawer when he finally reached the Eye of the Deep.
But eventually, the phone sinks to the bottom of the sea, which means that it is precisely the obsession unravelled. The call that finally appears is actually not the birth mother back but the stepmother. The original film of the birth mother is cold, heartless, and doesn't care about the message of the daughter, the heroine, all just the pursuit of the shadow of that love, a floating that is scattered. And along the way NanHe's get-together gave her a sense of home, so she felt the love of family, but also gradually recalled the happy times with her father's stepmother's brother. Hence, she jumped out of the obsession. The birth mother also came back or not is no longer critical. Nanhe took her out of depression and became her spiritual regenerative parent. She was also the last to set aside the call to save the Nanhe. So a reason, many places can be precise.
This narrative has a lot of problems, and it's easy to get confused without looking into it. The characters also have a big problem standing up unsteadily (or maybe it's the unique way depressed people see the world). The story's first half is a villain's image of a money-grubbing villain, and the second half is very calm, brave and righteous. The memories of his hometown and the appearance of the golden fields suggest that Nanhe has an exciting past experience. Unfortunately, what prompted her to save the heroine, what experience formed his character, I can not see for the time being. In short, the picture is a milestone, but the plot still needs to be sculpted as well.
A great work that successfully express emotions through visuals with a sentimental and profound story
QuanyunLin2 April 2023
Colorful and highly saturated visuals often appear tacky, but "Deep Sea" is not one of them. The flow of various lights and watercolor hues, creates a strong visual impact. Each frame is like a world-renowned painting that immerse audiences in a beautiful world. The last twenty minutes of the story are tear-jerking, as many details and clues from the earlier part of the story suddenly become clear. Although I haven't experienced the same thing, I've heard from friends who have had similar experiences and can empathize with their tears. This is a story about self-healing and growth, and it's been a long time since a film has touched me so deeply. It may be difficult for young children to understand, so it's recommended that parents watch it with them and guide them through it. I strongly recommend this work to all adults, as it provides a delightful visual experience and provokes empathy and insightful thinking.
NanHe-salvation for the depressed
liy-657488 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
What this little girl wants to find is someone to give her love, mother is just a symbol, she is looking for a mother who loves her, who is not important. The "mother" in the film is Nanhe, and the core of the story is the process of the little girl being saved by Nanhe and coming out, from jumping into the sea to drifting on the sea, to returning to the shore. The little girl witnessed a stranger who had nothing to do with her risk his life to save her. Let her feel the taste of love for the first time, also from the untangle of depression. Much of the first section is devoted to the inner workings of a young girl's struggle with depression. It combines Nanhe's saving himself from body and spirit with his inner activity from half reality and half fantasy. She combines Nanhe's every move with the fantasy of her inner world in the time line one by one to lead to the seemingly logical chaos of the story. One is imprisoned by the complex and twisted heart of depression, afraid, confused and withdrawn; On the other side is encouraged by the sunny and confident Nanhe, to give warmth and love, excited, grateful, self-blame for breakthrough. It takes two forces to create that inner world.
Amazing animation with a touching story
zh_zheng27 April 2023
Almost all animated films in the past have a villain that needs to be defeated by the main character. Only by defeating the monster can one grow up and become a hero. This film breaks away from such a traditional paradigm. It focuses on a 9-year-old introverted girl, trying to describe her inner world with an extremely gorgeous color. It looks like she fell into a fairytale, surreal world with magic. Colors and darkness just like dreams and reality. Combining with heartwarming music, it unleashes a powerful emotional impact. I believe this film is of great significance for the development of children's mental health.
What an emotional rollercoaster!
winter_rose-248-86511431 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I went into the theaters to see this movie without any expectations, and barely any knowledge about the plot. Never had I been more happy having carried tissues with me. Also, watching this movie in 3D was not only a blessing because of the spectacular animations and colors, but also to "hide" those sneaky tears with the glasses. While watching the first time, I was confused as to what was happening. It reminded me a little bit of Spirited Away, with a little girl landing in a place she should'nt be, having to "earn" being there, but with the goal to getting back to her parents/mom. I was confused about the huge amount of colors, splashing animations, funny-weird dialogues/emotions. Spoiler ahead: At the end, when it gets revealed that this all was happening in her fantasy after the jump into the ocean, I could barely hold it together anymore. Before that I was more angry at the family for treating her that way, also at how Nanhe treated her.. But after having seen the ending, and then also watching the movie a second time, it was such an emotional rollercoaster when I realized all the connections between the "real world" and her fantasized dreams... I love the movie not only for the beautiful visuals but also for giving me those emotions. 10/10.
The Most Important Masterpiece of Film History
NemoForevermore50023 December 2023
I am currently crying so hard right now. This is seriously the most beautiful, well put together story ever. I can't believe how magical this movie was. The marvelous animation truly made me shed a tear. And especially the ending, that part was just so truly heart touching, words cannot describe the series of emotions I felt. I absolutely loved the climax it had insanely excellent detail. Oh, and we can't forget the conclusion. The conclusion was the greatest and saddest conclusion I have ever seen. Thank you so much Tian Xiao Peng for creating this absolute masterpiece. This is essentially the most important masterpiece of film history. It is a tragedy that this film is so underrated...this transcendent emotional experience will be inaccessible for most. It beautifully encapsulates the human struggle to its basics; suffering, happiness, loss, and despair. It connects with the characters within the viewers, individuals suppressed within our own subconscious. It stays vibrant, fresh, and revolutionizes the art of storytelling and filmmaking while making a damn of statement on what it means to be human. Entertaining, gripping, and simply exhilarating. This might be the most impactful piece of art I've come across in my life, and I'm definitely coming back to it in the near future to study it more deeply. It's an absolute masterpiece of a film. It absolutely moved my soul, and I don't think I can ever be the same. This incredible movie has changed my entire mental state, I am now at peace with who I am and what I will be doing later in my life. I have let go of the past and now I cherish all the little things in life. The animation, music and everything can be heard, tasted, seen, and felt from the screen. You can really tell that the people who worked on this film really poured their heart and soul into producing this. I definitely recommend watching this true piece of modern art. 10/10.
Visual Beauty in a Touching Underwater Adventure
stvn-1645829 June 2023
One of the strong immediate impressions of this film is the incredible beauty of the images and art, with the incredibly detailed processing of shadows and lighting. The unique use of particle effects also shows the charm of ink painting. The use of shocking story material, while avoiding many of the legends commonly used by domestic animated films, chose to focus on the impact of depression sufferers and family restructuring on children, paying full attention to the humanistic side.
The film's narrative structure is very new and dreamy at the start, without explaining the full story. The film plunges headlong into the protagonist's fantasy world, allowing the viewer to engage in the inner world of the characters through virtual and real references. At the end of the story, the film shows flashbacks and explains the story in full. This approach makes the film more appealing to the viewer and makes the ending more memorable.
The film's narrative structure is very new and dreamy at the start, without explaining the full story. The film plunges headlong into the protagonist's fantasy world, allowing the viewer to engage in the inner world of the characters through virtual and real references. At the end of the story, the film shows flashbacks and explains the story in full. This approach makes the film more appealing to the viewer and makes the ending more memorable.
Visually stunning masterpiece with a deep storyline
yeolit23 September 2023
This is a film that on the surface looks like a storyline that borrows from "Spirited Away", and delves into the theme of fantasy, but once you cross a few thresholds of the movie you will likely start to realise that it is not so simple.
The visuals are absolutely stunning, I think they are even better than a lot of the famous studios out there like Studio Ghilbi, because of how the liquid threads and light speckles were portrayed, and there is a very advanced level of artistry in there, even though some parts of it look quite close to Spirited Away scenes. But rest assured that most of it is on its own, and the storyline is far deeper as well.
Without giving spoilers, I would like to say that this is a very tearjerking movie, especially near the end, and I like how they connected various parts of the "fantasy" back to real life, and suddenly some things made sense. Some other things have to be understood on hindsight, or from a second watch onwards, like a good book.
The storyline, while being fantastic and quite coherent by the end of the movie, made me confused as I was watching the front of it. There were so many things not explained, but the storyline goes rushing along new ideas and plotlines, thus it diminished the understanding of what was going on a little. Luckily, most of the early to mid movie scenes centered on still light-hearted themes,so thinking about the plotline was not that necessary. The connection between the early/mid to the back was done a bit abruptly though, so the transition could have been done better.
The ending of the film left me in deep thoughts about my life, and I start to wonder if I am in similar situations at time, extrapolated and not literally of course. Like a fine wine, this movie will be better as time passes and I understand the true essence of this movie. But for a first viewing and immediate review, this movie is one of my favourite already.
The visuals are absolutely stunning, I think they are even better than a lot of the famous studios out there like Studio Ghilbi, because of how the liquid threads and light speckles were portrayed, and there is a very advanced level of artistry in there, even though some parts of it look quite close to Spirited Away scenes. But rest assured that most of it is on its own, and the storyline is far deeper as well.
Without giving spoilers, I would like to say that this is a very tearjerking movie, especially near the end, and I like how they connected various parts of the "fantasy" back to real life, and suddenly some things made sense. Some other things have to be understood on hindsight, or from a second watch onwards, like a good book.
The storyline, while being fantastic and quite coherent by the end of the movie, made me confused as I was watching the front of it. There were so many things not explained, but the storyline goes rushing along new ideas and plotlines, thus it diminished the understanding of what was going on a little. Luckily, most of the early to mid movie scenes centered on still light-hearted themes,so thinking about the plotline was not that necessary. The connection between the early/mid to the back was done a bit abruptly though, so the transition could have been done better.
The ending of the film left me in deep thoughts about my life, and I start to wonder if I am in similar situations at time, extrapolated and not literally of course. Like a fine wine, this movie will be better as time passes and I understand the true essence of this movie. But for a first viewing and immediate review, this movie is one of my favourite already.
Deep (colorful) Sea
kosmasp14 August 2023
No pun intended - and nothing to do with the horror action movie you may think about (Deep Blue Sea) ... or that I may have ... put in your mind. Also note that there are no sharks here - there are many other (sea) animals in this though.
The animated movie, which apparently is called Donghu - well I think most of us are aware of Anime, but since this is a chinese production ... they have their own name for it. I was not aware there was an industry ... though a friend of mine told me she was watched a few of these ... mostly shows from China ... none was as good (in her view) than the movie we watched together the other day.
All that said, this is ... well fantasy and fantastical! It is as colorful and full of ideas ... the movie is about growing up ... it is about taking responsibility ... it is about dreams and hopes ... it is about what our mind can come up with ... words can not do justice what the makers have put on screen here ... so much going on, that a second or rather multiple viewings are necessary! This is a strong contender to be in my top movies of the year ...
The animated movie, which apparently is called Donghu - well I think most of us are aware of Anime, but since this is a chinese production ... they have their own name for it. I was not aware there was an industry ... though a friend of mine told me she was watched a few of these ... mostly shows from China ... none was as good (in her view) than the movie we watched together the other day.
All that said, this is ... well fantasy and fantastical! It is as colorful and full of ideas ... the movie is about growing up ... it is about taking responsibility ... it is about dreams and hopes ... it is about what our mind can come up with ... words can not do justice what the makers have put on screen here ... so much going on, that a second or rather multiple viewings are necessary! This is a strong contender to be in my top movies of the year ...
An interesting interplay
calahao9 October 2023
Shenxiu lost her mother and has to deal with an uncaring father. On a cruise, she gets swept away by storm and finds a magical submarine restaurant.
In some ways, the plot is similar to Spirited Away, but there's enough deviation, both storywise and plotwise, that makes this a quite unique film.
The animation itself is on two different extreme: semi-realistic CGI versus a type of CGI that looks like a living painting. I wish the latter was used more often as the movie can get visually drab at times, but the contrast between fantasy and the more nitty gritty parts of life is probably the intention here.
In some ways, the plot is similar to Spirited Away, but there's enough deviation, both storywise and plotwise, that makes this a quite unique film.
The animation itself is on two different extreme: semi-realistic CGI versus a type of CGI that looks like a living painting. I wish the latter was used more often as the movie can get visually drab at times, but the contrast between fantasy and the more nitty gritty parts of life is probably the intention here.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
